Emergents

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of individuals or entities that come into being from other origins or circumstances
2. Those that gain prominence or emerge within distinct scenarios or settings
3. Entities or living beings that come into existence or grow out of prior conditions

Etymology: "Emergents" is simply the plural of "emergent," so its history is that of the singular form. The adjective "emergent" comes from Latin "ēmergēns," the present participle of "ēmergō," meaning "to rise out of, emerge." Its core sense is literal: something coming up out of a liquid or a hiding place, and only later did it take on the figurative idea of something coming into being or becoming visible. The plural noun "emergents," which is the form you asked about, uses that figurative sense to name a group of things that arise from other origins or circumstances. In that usage the word treats the members as things that have surfaced from some earlier condition rather than things that were always there.

Synonyms: arising, developing